When the citizens approved a pension sales tax increase by impressive margins last year under Curry’s leadership, that freed Jacksonville to return to investing in the future.

Curry rolled out a city budget that returns to investing in the future again rather than being tied to the past.

proactive spending

Examples of Curry’s proactive spending include:

• 100 new police officers to fight a stubborn murder problem. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will be near its level in 2011 when murder numbers dropped. In his first two budgets, Curry added 80 officers and 80 community service officers. His third-year budget adds 100 more.

As Curry said, at current low levels, there simply aren’t enough officers to do true community policing. They must race from call to call.

• 43 more Fire &Rescue employees for a department slammed by an overdose crisis and $12 million for a backup 911 communications center.

• Major funds to replace old police and fire vehicles.

• $50 million to upgrade neighborhoods. This includes $8.4 million for dormitories and a public field at Edward Waters College, $12 million for roadwork through our sprawling 840-square-mile city and $1 million to upgrade public pools for a drowning prevention program in the city. An estimated 12,000 children will take swimming lessons in future years.

• Infrastructure improvements along the Northbank and Southbank are designed to turn eyesores into destinations.

"Infrastructure is the backbone of a great city," Curry said."You cannot be a suburb of nowhere. We must prepare Downtown for private investment."

• $8 million to demolish the former City Hall and county courthouse. The old City Hall was a monument to corruption, built by the old commission government, narrow, filled with elevators and stairwells and four restrooms on every floor, a vestige of segregation. Good riddance. The same can be said for a county courthouse that was so heavily used it was a dump in its final years.

• $1 million for landscaping Downtown. Hey, how about some trees that actually produce shade rather than those useless palm trees? Let’s make Downtown a real neighborhood rather than a pass-through.

• $1.2 million for repairs to Friendship Foundation. Let’s do something spectacular with it.

• $1 million for improvements and an extension to the Southbank Riverwalk. Once it is fully connected with the Northbank Riverwalk with a pedestrian walkway on the newly expanded Fuller Warren Bridge, Jacksonville will have something special.

"While infrastructure is the backbone our people, our children, are the heartbeat of Jacksonville," Curry said.

Curry is determined to spend the $36.4 million devoted to the Children’s Commission and the Jacksonville Journey more wisely.

He believes the organizations need to be reformed with a focus on the children with the greatest needs — a new approach that will be rolled out in the future.

And in the spirit of the Journey’s original mission, Curry wants reliable metrics in place to document and test the effectiveness of programs.

FINALLY, NEW MONEY

So where is the new money in this $1.2 billion budget coming from?

There is an expected infusion of $35 million next year in property tax revenue. Unlike his predecessors, Curry will not roll back the millage. There simply are too many needs in this city that were deferred since the Great Recession slashed revenues and the state cut them as well.

About $100 million will be spent with borrowed money, a responsible amount given the size of the budget.

At the same time, Curry’s outstanding finance team has been refinancing debt, moving more money into reserves for pensions and other budget needs and putting the city on a strong footing.

And the bottom line: The pension sales tax gives the city more choices.

BIG ISSUES, BOLD SOLUTIONS

"Before pension reform, our future was built on a foundation of sand," Curry said in his address before City Council. "Now we have a foundation of solid rock."

Curry stubbornly told everyone the pension had to be resolved before other needs could be addressed.

And he was right. The citizens of Jacksonville are already seeing the fruits of their landslide vote on the pension sales tax last year.

Curry remains committed to his motto of "One City, One Jacksonville," investing in all neighborhoods.

Curry has an unusual mixture of a politician’s heart and a CPA’s mind.

And that type of leadership is allowing Jacksonville to look ahead with anticipation instead of trepidation.

It is a welcome change

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Advertising

Stay Connected

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Florida Times-Union ~ 1 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32202 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service